Rahda and Rubens continued

Tonight I was going to get back to work on the critical theory paper, but I have been feeling so paralyzed with my painting -- I needed to get some paint moving. I've been over-thinking and I hate being in that state.

I went back to the Rahda Inviting Rubens to Her Pavillion painting. I am working on using larger brushes and "trying" to simplify my palette. I can't seem to help getting all kinds of colors going. I am also mixing in a lot of matte medium to get a more viscous texture to the paint. It worked pretty well tonight and I'm getting some blending and soft edges that I like. I think that the "problem" about finishing a painting in one sitting is really half material-related. It took me about an hour before the surface got malleable again. I think I'm done for the evening and I wonder how it will feel to go back to the dry surface tomorrow.

The painting moved closer towards the Rubens in composition and gesture. Last night I was looking over the images in "The Impact Of Chaim Soutine (1893-1943): de Kooning, Pollock, Dubuffet, Bacon" (I hated to mail it back today to the AIB Library). I am sure that influenced me. I love looking at Soutine's thick, energetic overlay of brushstrokes and colors. I used to find Soutine's colors somewhat repellent. I am now loving the rich, vibrant reds and earth tones.

Here it is.

From Radha Inviting Rubens to her Pavillion

The other day, I tried working with and admix palette (Phthalo blue, napthol red, and cadmium yellow). Here's what I ended up with. Blech. I'll keep working on it and see what happens.

From Painting 8/17/09